'All this happened because one industrialist...': Madras HC on 2018 Thoothukudi Sterlite police firing

In a scathing critique, the Madras High Court has rapped the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its report on the 2018 police firing that killed 13 anti-Sterlite protestors in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. 

The court accused the CBI of favoring a particular industrialist and exonerating the officers responsible for the incident.

A Division Bench of Justices SS Sundar and N Senthil Kumar, noting that the firing was conducted with a clear agenda, directed the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to investigate the assets of the accused officials, their spouses, and close relatives, covering a period from two years before to two years after the incident. 

The DVAC is tasked with probing all implicated police and revenue officials.

“We want to know where their assets stand,” the Bench declared.

This directive came during the hearing of a plea by Henry Tiphagne, Executive Director of the rights NGO People’s Watch, challenging the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) decision to close its suo-motu investigation into the incident. 

Tiphagne also requested the NHRC to reopen the case. Previously, the court had asserted that the responsible officers should be prosecuted for murder.

Expressing profound dissatisfaction with the CBI's chargesheet, the Bench stated that the agency, once praised for its impartial efforts, now appears to be influenced by the preferences of a single individual. The judges remarked, “We feel sad the CBI report actually worries us. The whole country is dependent upon you. We used to appreciate the efforts of some officers. But now, you are taking sides. It has come under the control of a single man. If the head is not bothered, the result of the investigation will not be fair... All this happened because one industrialist wanted it to happen. Let us assume that there is a defective charge sheet, who will benefit from it? You people acted for him.”

When the CBI counsel defended the investigation, the Bench questioned how the agency concluded that the firing was not premeditated. The Bench noted that for 100 days, protestors had conducted peaceful demonstrations against Sterlite’s copper plant.

The court observed that some individuals couldn't tolerate the voiceless masses gathering to protest and sought to silence them through force. “Everyone has to pay his price one day,” the Bench added.